Late afternoon, as the sun began to set.
Suddenly, the Heretic Inquisitor from the Sisters of the Blood Spear had shown up at the office. And it looked like I was the one about to be interrogated by her.
Shin Seo-hyeon didn't touch the tea I'd offered her. She just stared at it blankly before cautiously opening her mouth toward me.
"I've heard there's someone here who deals with anomalies in a... unique way."
She jumped straight into talk about anomalies.
From the way she knew about this "unique method," had she somehow figured out that I was keeping around the earth-bound spirit, the White-Faced Bride?
A typical exorcist or spirit medium would have put the White-Faced Bride to eternal rest or helped her achieve Buddhahood.
But I'd handled her in a completely different way.
In this world, I'm probably the only one who raises anomalies' affection levels to purify them. Yeah, that definitely counts as unique.
You could say it was similar to the methods of onmyoji or shamans, in a way.
Onmyoji who give anomalies what they want and form contracts with them. Shamans who forcibly suppress and dominate them.
Of course, if you looked closely, they were totally different from me. But in the sense that they kept anomalies around without destroying them, maybe there was some similarity.
Shin Seo-hyeon must suspect I'm a shaman.
In the World of Doom, shamans were one of the Vatican's biggest enemy factions.
Exorcists under the Holy See insisted that all anomalies had to be killed outright. Naturally, they despised onmyoji who handled anomalies or shamans who tried to exploit them.
And for good reason. Onmyoji always caused accidents while researching how to control anomalies, and shamans openly committed evil acts that stirred up trouble.
From the Church's perspective, having to clean up their messes was infuriating.
Especially shamans—their methods of handling anomalies were so blatantly heretical that it made sense for an inquisitor to come sniffing around.
"If you're talking about evil spirit exorcisms or the like, then you've come to the right place."
For now, I answered her question with a smile.
I wouldn't lose in a fight, but there was no reason to pick one.
The Church had deep pockets. They could make good friends if we got along.
"I see... In that case, I'd like to entrust you with a simple request."
"What kind of request? Is something interfering with your daily life, Sister?"
"Yes... This."
Sister Shin Seo-hyeon pulled a small wooden box from her habit.
The box was sealed with a rosary wrapped tightly around it. One glance told you there was something eerie inside.
This wasn't so much a real request as it was a test in itself.
"I'd like you to 'purify' the item inside this box."
"Purify it?"
"Yes... We realized that an entity we'd been monitoring in our jurisdiction vanished overnight. Without a trace... If you have the skill to erase a disaster-grade one like that, I thought maybe you could purify this too."
The sister explained the real reason for her visit without quite meeting my eyes.
In other words: a disaster-grade earth-bound spirit under their watch disappeared without a single trace from their managed area overnight. So they'd come to the most suspicious person—me.
If it had been an exorcist or spirit medium, there would have been traces left behind.
You can't perform an exorcism ritual or hold a gut ceremony without leaving evidence at the scene.
But this had removed only the anomaly without any traces at all. They might suspect a shaman or some fanatic worshiping ancient gods.
They already knew I'd dealt with the White-Faced Bride, and they were curious about my method. So they'd come in person to verify how I exorcised anomalies.
If I were confirmed as a shaman here—or as someone using some shady method—this sister would no doubt try to take my life on the spot.
"Alright, let's give it a try. Could you hand me the wooden box?"
"Yes... Here."
I took the wooden box from Sister Shin Seo-hyeon.
Her eyes widened. She stared in shock at me, the box in my hand—more precisely, at the rosary sealing the box.
So they rigged it after all.
The key wasn't the wooden box itself.
It was the rosary wrapped around it like a seal.
This rosary was far more impressive and powerful than whatever anomaly lurked inside the box.
Incredible divine power. Some kind of holy relic?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Name: St. Thekla's Rosary (Replica) Danger Level: None Classification: Holy Item, Relic Base: Replica modeled after St. Thekla's Rosary Usage: Use to seal object-type anomalies or protect yourself.
The item's name and basic info popped up.
If an evil human or someone worshiping a malevolent god had touched this rosary, their hand would've burned right off.
This was the test itself. "Can you touch this rosary and come out unscathed?" That's what they wanted to see.
Of course, I unwound the rosary without any issue.
I didn't worship any evil gods or ancient deities, nor had I committed acts wicked enough to incur divine punishment.
I was just a pitiful citizen forced to cohabitate with a yokai bride because I'd maxed out her affection by accident...
"Hm. It's a pair of earrings."
I casually unwound St. Thekla's Rosary and set it on the desk. Sister Shin Seo-hyeon stared at me suspiciously.
Her emotional state had shifted a bit.
From "distrust, suspicion, probing," it had changed to "shock, suspicion, tentative belief."
She still suspected me, but since the rosary showed no reaction contrary to her expectations, she was starting to see me in a slightly different light.
"I just need to purify these earrings, right?"
"Yes... Could you show me the purification process? I have to see it... Oh, and if possible, I'd like to record it with this camcorder."
Sister Shin Seo-hyeon pulled an old-fashioned camcorder from her habit and asked if she could film the purification.
The camcorder itself seemed ordinary, but with a cross etched on it, it was probably Church-made for capturing anomaly footage.
"Sure. Do whatever."
I didn't mind being filmed.
They weren't going to learn anything useful from me that way. And anyway, I wasn't using any methods the Church would hate.
Raising affection to purify is basically following Jesus's teachings, right?
Exorcising anomalies with love instead of violence—how could the Church hate that?
Jesus said to love everyone, after all.
"Let's see."
The earrings inside the box were trembling faintly.
A sign of threat... and fear at the same time.
It had probably been captured by the Church and used as an experimental subject for a long time.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Name: Earrings of Exhalation Danger Level: Caution Classification: Possession-Type, Tool-Type, Object Ghost Base: Earrings that devour the wearer's sins. If sins are grave, it devours the soul too. Exorcism Method: Wear in ears to prove piety, or destroy physically.
This was probably the real test.
If you were truly innocent, wear the earrings to prove your piety.
They'd rigged the rosary on the box, and now the earrings themselves were a device to uncover my true nature.
If I refused to wear them and destroyed them instead, her suspicions would deepen. Refusing purification altogether would just make her more wary.
"Pretty earrings."
The black crystal beads dangling from them gleamed with an unnatural shimmer, like moving black liquid. Probably because they'd already devoured plenty of someone else's sins.
⚙ PURIFICATION COMPLETE ⚙ [Affection: 0% → 100%] [Your innocence has been confirmed.] [Earrings of Exhalation have been purified.]
The moment I touched the earrings, their affection shot straight to 100%.
At the same time, the anomaly possessing them vanished.
So hitting 100% affection purifies them immediately.
For a humanoid anomaly like the White-Faced Bride, it might've triggered a marriage ending. But for an object-type, it just purified at max affection.
It was purified before I even got it to my ear.
No danger anyway, so I slipped the earrings on without hesitation.
"You're... unharmed?"
"Yeah. No problem at all."
"..."
The sister looked utterly baffled.
No one in this world is without sin.
This anomaly probably drained mental energy from anyone who wore it.
And if a real sinner put it on, it'd reap their soul.
But I was wearing them fine, leaving Sister Shin Seo-hyeon visibly flustered.
"C-Could you return the earrings now...?"
"Here."
I took them off and handed them back.
She examined them closely, channeling divine power into them, then muttered in genuine shock.
"...You really purified them."
Of course.
The Earrings of Exhalation couldn't withstand my piety and got purified.
"So, are the suspicions cleared up now, Sister?"
"..."
Sister Shin Seo-hyeon stared up at me blankly.
The rosary showed no reaction. The tool meant to expose my sins had revealed nothing and got purified instead.
So, what were you planning to use against me next?
"I'll... head back for today."
No grounds to drag me to a torture chamber, so she tried to bolt.
I grabbed her wrist as she headed for the door.
"Wh-What is this?!"
"Hold on, Sister. We need to settle the bill first."
"P-Pardon...?"
"You haven't paid the fee yet."
"Ah."
"I purified the possessing entity in those earrings. You should pay something for that."
Even if it was the lowest danger level, a Caution-grade possession. At least 30 to 40 mil.
"As you can see, no cards, Sister. Bank transfer?"
Suspicious or not, I'd done the job. Time to get paid.
In the end, I successfully extracted the fee from Sister Shin Seo-hyeon.
Legally fleecing a nun.
My heart's racing.